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Yes, the snowflakes are still flying here. But the birds know better. Thank goodness.

There are dozens of birds at our feeders. Dive-bombing in and out -- barely missing each other as they flit back and forth from the feeder to nearby branches. Sometimes they meet each other in a stand-off, hovering miniature helicopters, until one surrenders the perch.

We're filling the two tube feeders every other day -- and that's without any squirrels emptying them out. The squirrels have been relegated to the leftovers. You see, we've got picky birds -- they actively discard the "white seeds" (we're still not sure what they are --- we thought it was millet but no, it's something else. . . ) which they drop to the happy little red squirrels below.






The goldfinches are starting to recover a hint of their yellow.









The house finches are becoming rosier by the day (hour?).
























The nuthatches' gorgeous apricot chests nearly glisten.




The juncos are jammin' with their friends.










Mama and Papa Cardinal puff out their feathers while courting in a nearby early-budding branch.










And, huzzah! The black-capped chickadees are gorging in preparation for mating season.

We've purchased the 10 foot pipe upon which we'll mount the nesting box (and camera!) very soon. Al will be swinging the sledge hammer through the frozen ground...maybe later this week.

And was that a mating call I heard early this morning? Oh, yes! Spring can't be far off!